How much did you visit BEFORE your DVC purchase?

[MBTigger]

Be Gentle with me - It's my First time.. (Posting here, that is )

In the last 20 years or so I have visited WDW 3 times. I have visited other theme parks FREQUENTLY, not quite once a year but more than once every other year. Mostly because the other parks are close to family and friends

This January we are staying at Kidani Village to celebrate the graduation of our eldest from High School. We are renting a 1 bedroom in Kidaini Village for $17 per pt because my spouse is a celiac and the use of a Kitchen expands the food options for her a LOT. As our kids graduate, airfare to WDW will be less. Our Vacation time will be more. I know WDW is for kids - but I think that applies mostly to the Magic Kingdom....

From a personal perspective, I think the Magic Kingdom is OK; Animal Kingdom and Epcot are more to my personal tastes, and Star Wars in particular was the Mythos I grew up on (I was the target audience for the original - Literate fantasy and Sci-Fi Loving Pre teen). While I love the thrill rides at places like Cedar Point and Magic Mountain, I would be just as happy if not MORE happy visiting WDW as visiting those other parks

When I visit Kidnai Village and really enjoy the experience of a 1 Bedroom unit and visiting Batuu I will begin to ask myself "How often would I return If I had a DVC membership and would that make it worthwhile". Which leads me to ask the question of those who have been through the experience...

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

We bought after our 3rd visit when DD was 5; we added 120 points in 2015, for a total of 320. We have done a mix of couple and family trips in the last year as DD has been at uni. We have enough points to solo in a studio or 1BR and to do a 1 or 2BR as a family if we want. Our points are paid for so we use them to stay where we want, not necessarily where one would say we should.

 

[bwvBound]

We waited until our visits were an established annual pattern. Our first DVC stay and sales presentation (aka tour) was in 1998; our first DVC purchase was in 2004 after an allmost 6 year gap. We'd been each year in between and sometimes traded in using a different timeshare we purchased in 2000.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

On site as an adult... roughly 12-15 vacations before we purchased.

Including off site as a kid? Add another 10 or so.

 

[zavandor]

I know WDW is for kids

As a 44yo grown up I can tell you this isn't true
I visited WDW twice before buying DVC, but I was a regular visitor at DLP and I knew I wanted to visit WDW more often for the next 50 years or so.

 

[suebeelin]

I visited 3 times off property, then once on property (happened to be BW- hotel side). Total 4 times pre DVC ownership. The cost of the room (even with conference discount) kicked me into looking at dvc. My sister owned BLT.

We bought about 6 mo after our first on property visit. That was 8 years ago!

I’m almost 49 (tho kids are 6 and 9) and I still enjoy Disney. I’m just starting to flinch at the park entrance costs....

 

[AnnaS]

We went every few years to WDW before purchasing our DVC points.

Now - between WDW, Hilton Head, Vero Beach and DCL - averaging twice a year.

 

[Sneaky3]

I went in sometime in January 1999 and then went back in February 1999 and bought. I can’t for the life of me remember where I stayed in January.. I didn’t use my first year points which I believe where 1998 points because they used those towards the down payment.

 

[MJ NH]

I went 6 times as a kid in the 80s. 4 times as a young adult in the 90s. Every other year since 2010. But I didn’t buy DVC until last year, so I plan to go every year now.

 

[Madame]

My first visit was Aug 2014 at age 38. Never went as a kid. We bought our first contract in early 2016 after 4 trips in 1.5 years.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We bought when we realized we were already going twice a year, for Flower and Garden and in December. A special birthday for my Mom (85) one December was the actual reason. We bought in 2003, and 13 people in all celebrated her birthday at Epcot with us.

 

[Cali2nooga]

We've gone 6 times in the last 5 years. It gave us a chance to learn when we like to visit (Oct, Jan, May) which has really helped us choose a use year. We've stayed off-site, on-site (moderate and deluxe), and rented DVC points to get a feel of how we like to vacation (love pools, 1 br, kitchen). Although we've only stayed at 2 of the DVC resorts, we've visited our top 5 and done actives and dining. We've just now decided that DVC is a great choice for us. Looking back I could always say that I wish I bought sooner, but I'm thankful for the experiences and even mistakes that have shaped our decision.

 

[BillPA]

We had 7 trips in before DVC started, on our 8th trip we checked out DVC, the 9th trip was at DVC. That was in 1993

 

[MICKIMINI]

One stay at the Pop in 1996 was all it took for DH to write the check. At that point we were going with our son nearly every year and it was great to own OKW and be able to invite family and friends to join us - many happy memories! We've stayed at or toured nearly every resort but RIV. Our last trip with our son was in his junior year of high school as the financial threat of college loomed large, however he's been twice recently with his now wife and they are joining us this fall (we live 3000 miles away from them). They are young professionals and love it too!

DH and I go nearly every year and sometimes twice and love it! We've traveled extensively and this is STILL our happy place

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

We visited once as a family. Then realized we wanted to go back...often. Never stayed at DVC but that didn't stop us from buying

 

[moose81]

We haven't bought yet but are planning to in the next few months. We just returned from our 3rd trip as a family, averaging every 2 years since my daughter was born. I grew up Disney and was there almost every year as a kid so I don't actually know how many times I've been there personally, but my husband had only been there once or twice before we starting going as a family.

 

[Bruin_mouse]

We visited once as a family. Then realized we wanted to go back...often. Never stayed at DVC but that didn't stop us from buying

Yup. After my first visit as an adult I understood the value of staying in the bubble but didn't want to pay the nightly rate Disney charges at Disneyland. Even though it's a lot more money upfront, I saw how owning DVC in the long term could make financial sense. I then realized that to get the numbers to make financial sense I needed to buy and start using it, and that from starting to look at resale contracts to first stay could be up to a year and some change. Looking at all that I decided to dive in and buy. Our first stay at the Grand Californian in February, and it was awesome. No regrets so far, but I have a while to go. Good luck with your decision.

 

[skippytx]

Twice.

Feb 2015 - AoA Family suite. First time ever visiting WDW. Loved it
Feb 2016 - Rented DVC points for a 1 bedroom at Bay Lake Tower for about the same price as the AoA family suite. Confirmed our thoughts about buying into DVC.

Bought into DVC July 2017. Should have bought in sooner as prices went up significantly between mid 2016 and mid 2017. 5 months earlier and I could have saved 20 bucks a point probably. Still feel good about getting in at 125 a point though.

 

[Louis morrell]

We visited WDW 10 or 12 times before we purchased. We never saw a DVC resort nor did we do a tour. I spent a week at Scout Camp with a friend who was also a Disney fan. He pretty much sold me on the value of DVC.

 

[TonyaG83]

I stayed twice as an adult (one time per year) before buying into DVC a few years ago. My first visit was at All-Star Music and I vowed never to stay value again. I rented points at Boardwalk the next year - and knew it was going to be an annual visit for me.

I figured if I was paying someone $2000/year to use their points for a week, I might as well invest myself and take advantage of being able to book low point rooms without having to fight everyone else in the rental market